1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clothing material in which a foamed net in a meshed shape that is constituted with a plurality of foamed strands intersected and simultaneously welded together at intersection points is inserted between a pair of outer clothing layers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Textiles in which the above-mentioned foamed net in a meshed shape is contained as a main material (textiles in which a foamed net is sandwiched between outer cloth made of synthetic fibers, such as nylon and Tetron, hemp, cotton etc., and lining cloth and the like) is lightweight, and excels in warmth retaining property. These textiles are commonly used in casual wear, life jackets and vests, sportswear, etc. as is described in JP-A No. 10-202808. Foamed strand made of polyethylene, polystyrene, etc. is configured in a meshed shape, and then this foamed net is welded and combined. Such foamed nets are generally used to cover and protect soft and fragile materials, such as fruits and vegetables, or often used as cushioning materials for partitioning during transportation.
Moreover, what is disclosed in JP-A No. 11-5282 etc. is known as a textile itself made of a foamed net as a main material. In the foamed net in this case, foamed strands having thin filament-like shape are arranged so that they may be mutually parallel at regular intervals, and then strands obtained are piled up to constitute a meshed shape. As a cross section form of the foamed strand, a round shape shown in FIG. 11 (a) and a flat elliptical shape (or oval shape) shown in FIG. 11 (b) are commonly used.
In a foamed net adopted in conventional textiles, foamed strands are configured in a meshed shape and clearance is formed among adjacent foamed strands so that the foamed net may have air layers that create a warmth retaining property and as a result a lightweight net is realized. Then when a more advanced warmth retaining property, cushioning property, and buoyancy are required, some means may be used in which foamed nets inserted into textiles are piled up to form a double layer, or warmth retaining and heat insulating layers with different materials are further added, as is described in the above-mentioned document (JP-A No. 11-5282). For example, when a foamed net is used as a material for a life jacket, in order to acquire specific buoyancy, a plurality of foamed nets are used in laminated form in two or more layers, or a tubular-shaped net, often used for the protection of fruits etc, is used (referred to as xe2x80x9ccapxe2x80x9d in the case where it is used for fruits).
However, the use of plurality of warmth retention and heat insulating layers, such as foamed net, increases the production process of textiles and materials, which causes an obvious cost rise. As a result, an increase in processing has a simultaneous disadvantage of lengthening the lead-time in production lines. Therefore, many improvements must be made in order to increase the warmth retaining property, cushioning property and further buoyancy function effectively.
In order to improve buoyancy and heat insulating function in the present foamed net, without two or more layers of lamination, as shown in FIG. 11(b), it is proposed that the intersection angle between upper and lower foamed strands s1 and s2 be made larger (or an oblong section form may be adopted) so that a cross section form of welded foamed strands of s1 and s2 at intersection point k may have the shape of a long ellipse-like form with width w.
In this method, a cost rise and increase in weight are caused because the textiles come to have a large number of strands per unit area (or have a large volume per unit length of strand). Moreover, since a wide welded area at intersection point k induces a decrease in flexibility and as a result many disadvantages arise, this method is difficult to be realized.
An object of the present invention is, in garments With foamed net used as a clothing material (inter-lining), to provide clothing materials that are light-weight and easy-moving and have a high warmth retaining property, high cushioning property and high buoyancy function without spoiling the wearer""s feeling in wear, and that do not cause a cost increase or the above-mentioned disadvantages in production.
The invention provides clothing material in which a foamed net in a meshed shape being constituted with a plurality of foamed strands intersected and simultaneously welded together at intersection points is used by being inserted between a pair of outer clothing layers, wherein in the foamed net the foamed strands are welded together so that the foamed strands have cross section forms with different ratios of height dimension to width dimension, and simultaneously the longitudinal direction of the cross section form has an angle of 45 to 90 degrees to a face of the net in a meshed shape.
Foamed strands having cross section forms of elliptical shape, or of Japanese hand drum form, etc. with different ratios of height to width are welded so that a longitudinal direction of the cross section may have an angle of 45to 90 degrees to a face of the net in a meshed shape. Thus, the thickness of the foamed net increases and the amount of the foamed strands per unit volume of the foamed net decreases, as compared with a case where the longitudinal direction of the cross section may be parallel to the face of the net (oblong state) or with a case where the cross section form has a round shape. As a result, a clothing material is obtained that has a large air layer in the net and that has a large amount of elastic deformation in a direction orthogonal or almost orthogonal to the face of the net.
Since a foamed net of the present invention has a welded area equal to a conventional net with a circular cross section of foamed strands, flexibility as a clothing material is not impaired with very little cost increase. Therefore, warmth retaining property (heat insulating nature), buoyancy, flexibility and cushioning property sufficient for textiles are obtained by only one layer, even if foamed nets are not double laminated as was done before. Besides, since a laminating process is not required, excellent productivity and workability may also be maintained.
Furthermore, a cross section form of a foamed strand having the constitution set forth above may be almost elliptical. Moreover, a cross section form of the foamed strand may be configured so that an end of a vertical line of character T may be aligned at the intersection point.
When the cross section form is approximately elliptical, the foamed strand volume per unit length decreases, and a clothing material with better function is obtained. Moreover, in the case where the cross section form has a shape such that an end of a vertical line of the character T may be aligned at the intersection point, a clothing material may be manufactured having a function in which a contact point with an outer cloth layer forms a flat face and impact to the outer cloth is absorbed efficiently.
A ratio of height to width of the foamed strand in the cross section form may be in a range of 1.1 or more and 4.0 or less as is described in detail in preferred embodiments, and the following functions are provided. The foamed strand becomes deformed by compression in a cross section longitudinal direction (in a direction orthogonal or almost orthogonal to the clothing material i.e. the face of the net), without buckling of the foamed strand, when an external force against a body to be protected and covered by clothing material is applied to the clothing material, i.e., the foamed net. Consequently, a clothing material may be obtained in which an outstanding cushioning property, based on the cross section form with larger height than width of the foamed strand, is effectively achieved.